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Support pours in for elderly Shreveport woman who killed home invader

The Times article featuring local resident Elzie Pipkins, a 63-year-old grandmother who defended her home against a shotgun-wielding robber garnered unprecedented attention on social media, pulling in nearly 175,000 views since the Tuesday publication.

The Times article featuring Elzie Pipkins, a 63-year-old grandmother who defended her Shreveport home against a shotgun-wielding robber, is garnering nationwide attention on social media, pulling in nearly 175,000 views since its publication Tuesday.

Pipkins was forced at gunpoint into the back of her house in the 3000 block of Morningside Drive by Devon Antonio Young, a teen who demanded that she open her safe. Pipkins kept a small amount of change and a firearm in the safe and used the weapon against the 16-year-old, ultimately taking his life.

Members of the National Rifle Association and various social media groups shared the article with their fans and followers and brought the story of Pipkins’ bravery to thousands throughout Louisiana and the rest of the nation.

The story resonated with readers “because it was a classic story of (a) young would-be criminal preying on a seemingly helpless elderly victim,” Times reader Chuck Smith said.

Smith said he respects Pipkins, “who was determined not to be victimized and used deadly force to protect herself and the children in her charge.”

“None of us know what we would have done had we been placed in the same situation; she did what she had to do,” Briehn said. “Being a loving, caring person, she felt badly about the outcome. God bless Ms. Pipkins.”

Other reader comments echo similar sentiments from local gun enthusiast and firearms store clerk Helen Helverson, of Ron’s Guns in Bossier City.

“It helps people feel like they have the ability to defend themselves,” Helverson said. “The lady’s gun was in her safe when she pulled it out and shot that guy. She was flat defending herself and her home.”

Many Americans are worried about the security of the Second Amendment, Helverson said, but stories like Pipkins’ and her ordeal help curb efforts to curtail gun rights.

“The one thing that most concerns me is them taking away the average citizen’s rights to bear arms,” she said. “To take away the guns because of a few bad apples is like taking away cars because of a few accidents.”

Efforts to curtail the Second Amendment have been gaining momentum since the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., an NRA spokeswoman said.

“Under President Obama and certainly following the Newtown shooting, there has been an unprecedented attack across the country in state legislatures and at the federal level to undermine many of our Second Amendment freedoms,” Catherine Mortensen said. “The most important thing individuals can do to promote their Second Amendment rights is to contact their elected officials and to vote.”

Firearms owners are highly politically active and passionate about issues of home and self-defense, Mortensen said.

“Firearms are the great equalizer, and this story really illustrated that,” she said. “Elderly people, small people and women, especially, find that firearms are a great equalizer and are a great way to protect themselves and their families. People relate to that, so this woman’s story really touches a chord with a lot of people.”